WCC retirees gather for news, prayers—and Bossey anniversary

In his greetings, WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay offered an update highlighting news and events from the WCC during the past year under the umbrella of the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity. “We have been working on intensifying and deepening the pilgrimage as we go along,” he said. “Interestingly enough, I think in this past year since we have met, there has been some great movement in trying to actually deepen and broaden the understanding and the impact of the whole idea of the pilgrimage.”

He mentioned recent solidarity visits and dialogue with Ukraine, the Korean Peninsula, Palestine and Israel, and various African countries including Zimbabwe, South Africa, and others. The general secretary highlighted high-level meetings with presidents and ministers in these countries, addressing issues like constitutional amendments, national dialogue, wealth distribution, and xenophobia, emphasizing the WCC’s efforts to engage with member churches and ecumenical partners on the ground.

Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, reflected on why churches in the current global situation are called not to withdraw but to serve. 

“Since the church wishes to serve, there are things to which it will have to say no,” she said. “But there are also a number of things we need to say—and urgently say—yes to as churches.”

Churches are called to offer a countercultural witness in these times, Burghardt added, and one form in which that witness occurs is with responsible theology: “How to help our constituencies, our member churches, to think theologically about peace and reconciliation in times when one is in the middle of conflict, in the middle of war, and eventually also being the one who is attacked,” she said. 

Hubert van Beek, who served at the WCC from 1978 to 2004 as executive secretary, noted that the event had a record turnout of 45 people, showing the increasing interest. ”The meeting took place the day after the disastrous election result in Saxen-Anhalt,” he said. “One of the urgent questions raised was how our churches deal with such extreme rightwing developments, in a country like Germany, but also elsewhere in Europe, in the US, and in Latin America."

Van Beek also moderated a question-and-answer session with Pillay and Burghardt. “We would like to thank you, and want to assure you that our prayers are with you,” he said. 

Questions centered on many issues, ranging form the war in Ukraine, to the WCC’s relationship with specialized ministries, to how youth voices are being heard within the ecumenical movement. 

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WCC special page: 80th anniversary of Bossey